Author ORCID Identifier
0000-0003-0551-6172
Defense Date
2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Chemical and Life Science Engineering
First Advisor
Christina Tang
Abstract
Peel-force magnitude alone can be misleading for soft textile interfaces because the measured response includes substrate deformation, peel-arm dissipation, failure-path instability, and interfacial separation beyond interfacial adhesion alone. In this work, commercial adhesives were evaluated on an 82% nylon / 18% spandex knit fabric using a stability-informed T-peel framework in which conventional peel strength (Fc/w) and IC-Peel apparent fracture energy (Gc) were interpreted alongside displacement at break (xbreak), peel stability index (PSI), stick–slip amplitude (SSA), and crack-initiation-force repeatability (). Although E6000 produced the highest Fc/w (1.82 ± 0.27 N mm⁻¹) and Gc, it exceeded the tensile-derived substrate-yield reference and showed the largest force oscillations (SSA = 4.05 ± 0.83 N). Fabri-Fuse was selected for its superior deformation–stability–repeatability balance, confirmed by functional validation showing strain-to-failure of 34.95 ± 2.43% for Fabri-Fuse compared to 27.98 ± 1.47% for E6000 and 22.66 ± 1.68% for direct printing with no adhesive. The same normalized multi-criteria framework was extended without reparametrisation to fabric–silicone interfaces and TPU/PVP/LC cholesteric liquid-crystal layered systems across two nylon/spandex substrates (82N and 88N). On the primary 82N substrate, Blue LC reached Fc/w = 0.722 ± 0.107 N mm⁻¹, approaching or exceeding Fabri-Fuse depending on formulation, with a statistically significant formulation-by-substrate interaction confirmed by two-way ANOVA (p = 0.0046). However, Fabri-Fuse retained a superior PSI, SSA, and balance across both substrate types, a distinction that force ranking alone could not capture. These results demonstrate that a stability-informed, multi-criteria T-peel framework provides a generalizable characterization approach for soft, stretchable textile interfaces by quantifying rather than assuming substrate- and formulation-dependent behavior.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
7-21-2026